Gaelin goes to the rug in the foyer and pulls it back to see what is underneath. Assuming the trap door is where it was promised, he inspects it carefully to see if it is a trap.
If all is well, he will open it.
Athromar shakes his head to get the cobwebs out of it, "We made it. Well done my friends I thought I was a goner for sure".
Athromar channels energy to heal those injured.
Channel
Tristan comes to with a start. "Aggh, get it off!" he shouts, flailing, before seeing the dismembered skeleton a few feet away and trailing off with a sheepish look on his face.
"Well. That was thoroughly unpleasant. My thanks for the assistance."
A quick search of Rohkar's corpse yields A finely-crafted set of leather armor, a very nice crossbow, a nicely-made short sword, three vials containing oily substances, 15 gp, a blue potion , a white fur cloak, a slim book with the simple legend: 'spells' written on it, a necklace with an amulet with what looks to be a blank black face, and a ring of several keys , and a scroll tube.
The bandits have 10 gp each on them, as well as padded armor, short sword, and bow.
The party moves back to the foyer and pulls the bearskin rug away from the trapdoor. One of the keys on Rokhar's key ring fits the large padlock, and the lock is removed. When the trapdoor is opened a ladder leads down into darkness. A faint female voice with an aristocratic Taldan accent calls up from the darkness
"Hello? Hello? Whats going on? Please, don't hurt me!"
Sahsara gets up and brushes herself off with the wind, "What did I miss? Why is some lady not wanting us to hurt her?" Sounding slightly disoriented.
She picks up her bow and rapier.
"You're safe now," Gaelin says reassuringly toward the small cell, demonstrating his own native Taldane accent. "We have come from Heldren and have defeated the bandits. You can come out of there." He then thinks to add, "Are you injured?"
The aristocratic voice seems to approach the ladder
"Oh thank Blessed Shelyn! I had almost given up hope! I am wounded, but I can manage the ladder if someone could be kind enough to shed some light down here."
Gaelin lights a torch and holds it over the trapdoor. The light illuminates a cellar storeroom with racks of barrels, amphorae, and jars receding into the darkness. At the foot of the ladder is a handsome woman of middle age dressed in a stained sea green gown. Her hair is matted and her face is dirty, but you have no doubt by her bearing that she is a Taldane noble
"Bless you!" She cries, climbing swiftly out of the cellar
Reflexively, Gaelin offers the lady his arm as she nears the top. Of course, having been fighting all day, it may be unsettlingly soiled. "I am Gaelin Northvein. Would you be Lady Argentea?"
She grasps his arm, heedless of the blood spattered across it
"Aye, ser. I am. You have my gratitude, and that of my house for my rescue."
The lady's side shows a brown stain, and she has suffered several deep cuts on her arms. However she holds her carraige high as she surveys the party.
"Did any of my party survive?"
Athromar responds to the Lady a Nobleman himself, "I fear my Lady if they have we have not encountered them as of yet. Have hope, we have found you alive and well, perhaps we will find some of them as well".
Lady Argentea nods formally to Athromar
"Let us hope so"
She looks around
"I will need to get to Heldrin. Will you be so kind as to escort me thither?"
"We would be happy to escort you there My Lady. However, it is dark and treacherous out there. It would be best if we waited until morning"
Athromar attends to her wounds, if any, "Shall I see what I can do for the bedridden bandits? They will need to be healthy enough to stand trial for their misdeeds".
"We ought to keep the bandits under guard through the night, and also keep a lookout at the entrance," Gaelin says.
"Ten Penny, are there any other entrances to this lodge?"
Lady Argentea nods to Arthromar
"That makes good sense. I would not like to encounter the creatures that were in league with that bandit chief Rokhar"
Ten Penny shakes her head at Gaelin's question
"Just the main doors. This lodge is meant to withstand attack, it's a solid place. Easy to defend, which is why Rokhar took it. I can take you to the sickroom "
Sahsara wanders up, "Rest will definitely do us good, Lady could you be more specific on 'creatures that were in league with that bandit'? There was a bandit we let run off into the snow earlier, could he be rallying a counter attack as we speak?
Sahsara wanders up, "Rest will definitely do us good, Lady could you be more specific on 'creatures that were in league with that bandit'? There was a bandit we let run off into the snow earlier, could he be rallying a counter attack as we speak?
The lady addresses Sahsara
"Certainly. There were small blue fairies, winged sprites with a cold aura. Also, there was their lieutenant, a halfling-sized fey named Izoze. She was nothing like anything I have ever seen: Winged like a wyvern on her arms, blue skinned, trollish in mien, with a puffball of silver hair and a tail. She also radiated cold when she was near. They also mentioned a leader, but I never saw him named Teb Knotten."
The lady considers the second question
"I am no warrior, miss, I could not say. However, I do not think these bandits had any liking for the fey. they always seemed fearful of them. Only Rokhar spoke directly to them."
Ten Penny points to a door underneath the stairs
"That's their sickroom."
A quick search of Rohkar's corpse yields A finely-crafted set of leather armor, a very nice crossbow, a nicely-made short sword, three vials containing oily substances, 15 gp, a blue potion , a white fur cloak, a slim book with the simple legend: 'spells' written on it, a necklace with an amulet with what looks to be a blank black face, and a ring of several keys , and a scroll tube.
The bandits have 10 gp each on them, as well as padded armor, short sword, and bow.
Sahsara nods, "Ah, that is good, well I'm going to go see what the bandits had to eat while the men count the loot"
Sahsara nods, "Ah, that is good, well I'm going to go see what the bandits had to eat while the men count the loot"
Ten Penny goes with Sahsara
"I was forced to be their cook. I can pull out some supplies for a meal. The rangers that held this place had provisioned it well."
Athromar will head to the sickroom to get a sense of what the situation is.
Heal
Athromar opens the door to the room. Inside is a large space, with several cots set up along the floor. A large glass window opens out to a gorgeous view of the gorge beyond the lodge. The setting sun breaks through the clouds above to paint the deep snowdrifts outside pink as the light fades.
On two of the bunks are men swaddled in blankets. Their faces are blistered and blackened with frostbite. One turns his head weakly
"Who's there? Wha..what's going on out there?"
Gaelin accompanies Athromar as he checks on the bandits. He does not address their questions directly, instead asking Athromar, "Ordinary frostbite, or is it something more than natural?"
The sick bandits are covered in blisters and their skin looks blackened. They are also running fevers, which isn't a usual frostbite symptom, but may be the result of weakened overal health. They look ill-tended , and the smell of old sweat and excrement lingers in the air
Tristan goes to check on the bandits as well, hoping his talents will prove more useful here than they did in combat.
Heal
...or not.
Tristan checks them, but there really not much he can do. Most of his experience is with wounds, and bringing fevers down is a whole different thing
Athromar spies a jar marked 'willow water' on a nearby shelf. He recalls this is a good fever reducer
Jeydavu notices the Rohkar's blade is covered with a thin coating of some oily liquid.
Satisfied that the sick bandits do not pose a threat and Athromar is looking after them, Gaelin starts searching the rest of the lodge. He heads to the upper level to see where Rokhar was hiding running the operation.
Athomar brings them to "willow water" to reduce their fevers.
"We are from Heldren and have been tasked with ferreting out the cause of this cold as well as rescuing a kidnapped noble. You are going to be treated by me and when well, brought to the authorities so they may mete out punishment as is deemed fit to your crimes. Sleep well".
Athromar leaves them after he has treated them.
He looks for his companions, "We should return my Lady to Heldren and warn the folk there of what we have found so far. They can collect these bandits to bring then to justice. Then we can return here ad see if we can pick up the trail of the villains who caused all of this.
Ten Penny, have you any idea to which they went after their meetings with Rokhar?"
Satisfied that the sick bandits do not pose a threat and Athromar is looking after them, Gaelin starts searching the rest of the lodge. He heads to the upper level to see where Rokhar was hiding running the operation.
[dice=Perception]1d20+4
At the top of the landing is a large room with windows commanding an excellent view of the surrounding winter-wrapped landscape. On walls between the several large windows several maps of excellent quality are affixed. The maps show several crude markings where someone has amended them. An L-shaped table with chairs fill most of the floor space.
Athomar brings them to "willow water" to reduce their fevers.
"We are from Heldren and have been tasked with ferreting out the cause of this cold as well as rescuing a kidnapped noble. You are going to be treated by me and when well, brought to the authorities so they may mete out punishment as is deemed fit to your crimes. Sleep well".
Athromar leaves them after he has treated them.
He looks for his companions, "We should return my Lady to Heldren and warn the folk there of what we have found so far. They can collect these bandits to bring then to justice. Then we can return here ad see if we can pick up the trail of the villains who caused all of this.
Ten Penny, have you any idea to which they went after their meetings with Rokhar?"
Ten Penny nods
"They haunt the woods nearby. I know they planned ambushes with Rokhar"
Sahsara returns from the kitchen, dual wielding sausages.
"You wouldn't happen to know if they have some up coming ambushes planned, would ya?"
Sahsara returns from the kitchen, dual wielding sausages.
"You wouldn't happen to know if they have some up coming ambushes planned, would ya?"
Ten Penny shrugs
"I was basically a prisoner here. He didn't share his plans with me. But, he did plan a lot of stuff in his upper room"
Gaelin looks through the maps and any other papers for any indication of what the bandits were up to.
The map amendments are done crudely with charcoal. They seem to mark areas in the local wood. Gaelin notices there is a mark where they found Lady Argentea's overturned carriage. A big X is marked on the map.
"I'll go look up there then, thank you for all the help" Sahsara gives
Ten Penny her best smile and heads up stairs with Gaelin to investigate.
While the others tend to the bandits, Lady Argentea, and search the building, Jeydavu goes back outside to tend to his moose. He looks for a safe place to stable his long time friend.